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Sunday, 17 August 2014

Supergirl #4 - The Borrowed Brain.

I happen to know this because I happen to know that all the worst ideas in human history were conceived by people with a brain.

If only we all had the intellectual development of a lettuce; how peaceful the world would be.

Well, that was all very philosophical. I feel like Stan Lee, rappin' with his readers in Stan's Soapbox.

As regards the brain situation, clearly this is a rap that needs laying down on Supergirl, as she literally - and unwisely - gives a would-be master criminal a piece of her mind.

What happens is this. As desperate for a bunk-up as ever, Linda Danvers instantly falls in love with David, a student she meets at a pool party.

It's true! Stay clear of his sappy love, Linda!

With the inevitability of night following day, it turns out he's a criminal genius who only wants to hang around with Linda so he can use her as an alibi. You have to hand it to Supergirl, her homing beacon for inappropriate romance never seems to get weaker.

Sadly, David isn't as bright as he thinks he is because, trying to get brownie points with the authorities, he gives himself massive brain damage whilst saving one of Linda's flatmates from death in a swimming pool.

Well, there's no way Supergirl's going to let her latest dreamboat be a vegetable for the rest of his life. So, with the aid of a Kandorian scientist, she transfers some of her brain cells into David's head.

Don't try this at home, kids.

There's only one problem.

The new brain cells promptly give him super powers, enabling him to embark on an even better life of crime than before.

Except it doesn't - because no sooner has he begun his super crime spree than he loses his powers and Supergirl hands him in to the cops.

Will Linda Danvers ever develop the sense to find a decent boyfriend?

Obviously not.

After all, where would DC's Silver and Bronze Age writers have been without every boyfriend she ever had turning out to be a robot/woman/horse/statue/murderer/ghost/whatever?

On the face of it, this issue should be a reason to celebrate as, after three issues of Supergirl coming up against no kind of threat to her at all, she finally comes up against someone who can be a match for her, thus theoretically upping the dramatic stakes.

Sadly, the dramatic stakes remain well and truly un-upped, as no sooner has she encountered David in his super form than he promptly loses his powers. Again, I suspect this is down to the comic having to accommodate a Zatanna back-up strip and therefore the page count having to be kept down.

Yet again, there's no mention whatsoever of mysterious flatmate Wanda Five. I really would love to know just what happened with that storyline. I'm starting to wonder if Supergirl's murdered her and the truth is being kept from us.

I don't buy the excuse of the story being lame because of the low page count. Stan and Steve could've taken the same premise and done a truly freaky story in five pages; Eisner may have needed a whopping seven pages. This is just bad writing, though its badness is kind of pathetically endearing.

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About Me

I inflicted the novels "Danny Yates Must Die" and "Mr Landen Has No Brain" on the world, as well as a bunch of short stories under a bunch of pseudonyms.
I also run the blogs "Steve Does Comics" and "Steve Does Dr Who".
My latest novel - "Fatal Inheritance" - is out now on Amazon Kindle. If you like women fighting the forces of evil, it's the book for you.